Because most of us don't have the space or money to install a dedicated wine cellar, we resort to storing at least some of the wine we buy in a refrigerator. If the fridge is one meant to store wine that's okay, but if you just popping the bottles into your regular refrigerator, you could be harming the wine, says Food and Wine's Oset Babür-Winter.
While putting a bottle into the fridge for a short amount of time to allow it to come to proper serving temperature might be okay, long-term storage at cold temperatures is a no-no according to wine experts. Most refrigerators are too cold, which can shock the wine. When that happens, "tartaric acid falls out of the body of the wine in the form of ‘wine diamonds,’ and the wine loses some of its complexity, balance, and flavor. Thus, very quickly, the wine becomes unbalanced and stays unbalanced, compounding its unbalanced flavors for the duration of its ‘aging’ in the fridge,” says sommelier Leonara Varvoutis.
In addition, vibrations from the refrigerator's compressor can agitate the wine, upsetting the sediments that play a role in the proper aging of wine. If you do not have a dedicated wine fridge that is set up with the right humidity, temperature, and light levels, you are better off storing your fine wine in a closet or other dark space to keep UV from deteriorating it.
3 comments
debkellie
SilverSage
Generally speaking, most reds should be 60-65F, and most whites 50-55F, roses even cooler at 40-45F. Sparkling should be refrigerator cold - 40F or lower.
It's OK to store them lower than drinking temp, just set them out for a bit before drinking. My high end reds, I store at 50-55F, or white wine temp. When you open them to breathe before drinking, they will come up to proper temp.
What he didn't say is that humidity is also important - ideal is 50-70% relative humidity.
(I have certificates and pins that say I'm supposed to know this stuff).
Rinshin